Labor & Employment Law Blog

On October 7, 2021, Governor Newsom signed SB 331 to place additional restrictions on employers offering severance agreements and settling employment claims alleging harassment, discrimination or retaliation based on purported violations of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”). The new law, which is effective January 1, 2022, expands California’s current legal restrictions under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1001. Currently, CCP section 1001 prohibits various confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in settlement agreements, specifically those that would prevent disclosure of factual information relating to claims of sexual assault, sexual harassment, workplace harassment or discrimination based on sex, or retaliation against a person for reporting such acts.

In our April 8, 2020 blog post we relayed information about the California Judicial Council’s issuance of Emergency Rules that, among other things, suspended statutes of limitations on civil cases in California until 90 days after Governor Newsom lifted the state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic (“Emergency Rule 9”). 

On Friday, May 29, 2020, the California Department of Public Health approved Los Angeles County’s variance request to move further into Stage Two of the California Resiliency Roadmap, allowing Los Angeles County restaurants to provide in-person dining service and hair salons and barbershops to reopen.

On Tuesday, May 26, 2020, the Los Angeles County Health Officer issued an Order moving the County into Stage 2 of Governor Newsom’s 4 Stage California Pandemic Resilience Roadmap. The Order is effective immediately and until further notice within all cities and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, except for the cities of Long Beach and Pasadena, which have their own public health officers and orders that businesses in those cities must comply with.  Long Beach and Pasadena released their own revised orders, which closely track the Los Angeles County Health Officer Order, and are respectively available here and here. 

The California Judicial Council, under the leadership of Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, is the policymaking body of the California courts.  In accordance with an executive order from Governor Gavin Newsom last month, on Monday April 6, 2020 the California Judicial Council approved 11 temporary emergency rules, extending deadlines and providing for remote litigation proceedings. 

As discussed during our recent Breakfast Briefings on the sick leave law, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, we have been tracking various bills at the California Legislature regarding sick leave.  Following is the latest on each of these bills: